Two professional groups have pledged to fight cancer in Bauchi State, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The bodies are the Bauchi state chapters of the Nigeria Cancer Society (NCS) and the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ).

The groups stated their various missions on Thursday in Bauchi during a public awareness lecture for women.

They said that they took the measure as a deliberate effort to eliminate the disease and spread knowledge on various cancer diseases in the state through mass education.

The NCS Chairperson, Dr Habiba Ismail, said that the disease could be eliminated if the public were much educated on the symptoms, treatment and prevention of the diseases.

“Cancer is as deadly as HIV/AIDS, as such in as much as HIV is preventable; cancer is even curable if detected at early,’’ Ismail said.

She lamented that most cases in the state turned out to be last presented to the health facility.

The chairperson called on policy makers to include the treatment of cancer in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Ismail said that plans were on the way to increases diagnostic centres for cervical across the federation and advised the State Government to take the advantage and ensure that one centre be located in Bauchi.

On her part, the state Chairperson of NAWOJ, Mrs Bulak Afsa, said that educating women on the disease was an initiative that would reach women across the state.

She said the association took the campaign against the disease as a result of two out of the three leading cancer in the state affects women directly.

Similarly, the National President NCS, Dr Sani Malami, said that the disease has become a public health concern as such public education was the weapon of preventing the disease.

The wife of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mrs Gimbiya Dogara, charged members of the two professional bodies to raise public awareness on the deadly disease.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reports that women from across the state enjoyed free screening for breast and cervical cancers.